Each night at the fair, Cowboy John hosts cloggers, banjos

11:45 PM,
Sep. 4, 2013

The bluegrass band Bobby and Blue Ridge Tradition performs Sept. 6 at the N.C. Mountain State Fair.

Written by

Carol Rifkin

Traditional music and dance is right at home at the North Carolina Mountain State Fair. From Sept. 6-15, the region's finest string bands, bluegrass bands and dance teams take the stage nightly for a two-hour mountain variety show. Take a break from the blinking lights of the midway and pull up a chair at the Heritage Craft Circle.

"The Mountain State Fair has always featured mountain music," said longtime Asheville radio personality John Roten. Affectionately called "Cowboy John" by friends and fans, he will host the shows each night while Vickie Hensley-King, director of the fair's ...